Glasgow-based The Ultimate Boat Company (UBC) has been shortlisted for the ‘Environmental Initiative’ category of the forthcoming Metstrade Boat Builder Awards as a result of its pioneering use of a revolutionary sustainable technology and material in boatbuilding.
ExoMarineTM, the marine variant of DANUTM, was created by UBC’s parent company, ExoTechnologies, as an alternative to glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) with the goal of combatting the growing problem of old boats being disposed of via landfill, with an estimated 250 million kilos of GRP being dumped in Europe each year.
"An estimated 250 million kilos of glass-reinforced plastic is being dumped in Europe each year"
Comprised of styrene-free resin and sustainable fibres, this breakthrough composite material has exceptional strength and is capable of being recovered, recycled and reused repeatedly. It is stronger and lighter than fibreglass, less brittle than carbon fibre and costs no more to produce than either. The material loses none of its tensile strength when recycled and uses the same vacuum infusion methodology as many existing boat building materials, so requires no additional manufacturing or labour costs.
The DANU material in production
DANUTM is not only capable of accelerating the green transition to circularity for composite materials used in maritime craft but there are several other industry applications being progressed. The development team has produced a ballistic resistant solution (ExoProtectTM) ready for scalable production to commercialise this novel technology and ExoTechnologies is also partnering with the world’s leading organisations to develop a circular solution for the sustainable energy industry (ExoWindTM).
Understandably, the DANUTM development project has attracted considerable attention from other ESG investment funds, multi-national corporations, specialist research institutions, military, law enforcement, media and industry publications.
A close-up image of the recently launched X-CLASS boat from the Ultimate Boat Company
Shane Mugan, CEO of ExoTechnologies, said, “This development project has created a fully-scoped “pathway” for boat manufacturers using conventionally infused composite material to rapidly transition to ExoMarine™. It represents a ‘fit for purpose’ and viable solution in response to this global ecological crisis by providing an accelerated green transition to a circular economy for the maritime industry.”
The Environmental Initiative award, sponsored by Confindustria Nautica, recognises boat builders who have made a significant contribution towards sustainability. The award recognises examples such as recycling initiatives, lifecycle awareness and support of environmental improvement projects. The Boat Builders Awards ceremony will be held at the Metstrade show in Amsterdam on 17 November.
